How do you locate a 24-hour urgent care clinic?

A:

Quick Answer

Websites such as Urgentcarelocations.com and Immediateclinic.com help users locate urgent care facilities that are open 24 hours per day. Because nonemergency illnesses and accidents happen at a variety of times, these facilities provide a more reasonable treatment option.

Urgent care facilities offer people a choice for medical care for non-life-threatening illnesses when the doctor's office is closed. These facilities reduce the high co-pays and percentages of costs that go along with trips to the emergency room. Performing a search on such engines as Ask.com often provides results as well, but it is important to verify on each facility's website that the hours really are 24/7, notes Urgentcarelocations.com.

As of 2015, about 20,000 doctors in the United States carry out urgent care medicine practices. The American Academy of Urgent Medicine requires facilities that carry the "urgent care" label to be open seven days a week. While 24-hour services are not a requirement, many facilities offer that as a convenience. In addition to flexible hours, these clinics often have wait times that are much shorter than emergency room visits. About 80 percent of all urgent care visits within the United States are over in an hour or less, according to Immediate Clinic.